Representing the 2nd District of Connecticut

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Courtney Votes to Restore 2019 Pay Raise to Federal Workers

January 30, 2019

Press Release

Washington – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, voted to pass the Federal Civilian Workforce Pay Raise Fairness Act (H.R. 790). The bill, which Courtney co-sponsored, would authorize a 2.6% pay raise for federal civilian workers for calendar year 2019, effectively reversing President Trump’s Executive Order implementing a pay freeze on federal civilian employees. The bill would make the pay increase effective upon enactment, and would bring the 2019 pay increase for civilian employees in line with the raise given to members of the military in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that Congressman Courtney also strongly supported.

"The President’s decision to cancel non-Department of Defense pay raises for 2019 in the middle of a government shutdown was injury on top of insult to some the same public servants whose paychecks were being delayed,” said Congressman Courtney. “Some of the very same people whose lives were turned upside down over the past 35 days were also set to lose their scheduled pay increase due to the Trump Administration’s pay freeze. Restoring a scheduled, modest pay raise to hardworking Americans is among the least that Congress can do to begin to heal the harm that was dealt throughout the partial government shutdown.”

In September of 2018, Congressman Courtney joined 158 of his Congressional Colleagues in writing to House and Senate Leaders urging adoption of a bipartisan measure to increase federal employee pay, and a rejection of President Trump’s proposal.